The official blog of Samsung Electronics has revealed the design inspiration for its latest Galaxy S5 phone, which says involved extensive research into "appealing to consumers in their twenties and thirties," a demographic currently showing a preference for Apple's iPhone.

On Monday, the Samsung Tomorrow blog detailed the thinking behind the company's Galaxy S5, starting with its "Key Visual," or the default lock screen image as portrayed in the product's marketing.

The overall design concept of the new phone is called 'Modern Flash,' which Samsung describes as "a sophisticated and youthful urban style with emotion" and represented in the completely revamped lock screen image featuring "diamond-like shapes" and a quick camera access control in the lower right (above left, next to the older Galaxy S4 and S3.

"Considering that the key UX visuals for previous Galaxy devices were image of nature, Galaxy S5 is the first time Samsung used the colorful abstractive geometrical pattern for the Key UX visual," the company explained (emphasis theirs).

The company also says it conducted several tests before it "finally selected several colors, including different shades of blue" to show off the ability of the screen to depict the colors."The designers were actually inspired by diamonds" - Samsung

"If you look at the abstractive pattern, you cannot help to think that it resembles something... Diamond," Samsung reminded its audience. "That is because the designers were actually inspired by diamonds. The 'brilliant' or diamond cut design is a design in which diamonds are cut in a distinct form with many facets, having exceptional brilliance. That's why you can see diamond cuts on the main lock screen, which adds a sense of sophistication to the Galaxy S5 to make it fashionable and unique."

Diamonds are actually a commodity mineral product long monopolized by a cartel which invented and widely marketed a romantic tradition around paying exorbitant amounts for diamond-bearing jewelry in exchange for emotional security and a sense of "investment," but which in reality have very little real value or resale potential.

Samsung stumbles upon an original design, without iOS 7-like updates

Apart from the lock screen graphic, Samsung also expresses Modern Flash in its icon designs, which are designed "to have a stylish look by creating them in a simpler fashion," as depicted in icons (below) that set the new Galaxy S5 apart from the older S3 and S4 models.

"Thus, with an easy-to-see icons and interface, you can clearly say that the Galaxy S5 is a trendy smartphone," Samsung notes. "In result, many users have been raving about the clean and neat tidy looking icons and UI compared to that of previous Galaxy products."

Samsung's approach to refreshing its design is particularly differentiated from, say, Apple's iOS 7, in the sense that Samsung only applies it to its latest, most expensive new phone.

Apple delivered iOS 7 last fall as a free update with support for existing devices dating back to 2010, potentially leaving portions of the market confused about whether every iOS 7 phone was trendy and stylish or just Apple's newest and most expensive model.

Apple's iOS 7 update was so popular that virtually all iOS users who could upgrade did so immediately. Google even hosted hundreds of iOS 7 theme downloads in Google Play for its Android users to download, too.

Last year, Apple's revamped new user interface for iOS 7 dramatically simplified the original iOS appearance style, causing some of Apple's critics to complain that it had had copied Microsoft's Windows Phone or Google's Android.

In particular, Apple was accused of borrowing features like iOS 7 Control Center, which is often compared to Android's Quick Settings buttons or Action Center in Windows Phone. Samsung has extended Android's stock Quick Settings (below) with buttons for virtually everything on the Galaxy S5, which is nothing like Apple's Control Center.

Despite Samsung having licensed the use of both Android and Windows Phone software, and having entered into special patent agreements with Google and Microsoft, the company's Galaxy S5 design doesn't appear to be primarily influenced by either Android's "Holo" appearance or Microsoft's WP8 "Metro" interface.

Samsung case designed for youth, not vegans

The company also directed attention to its original rear case for the Galaxy S5, covered in sheepskin leather rather than a wimpy vegan-recyclable materials like aluminum or glass or the "unapologetic plastic" of Apple's iPhone 5c."To make Galaxy S5 attractive especially to younger users, the designers researched day and night to find the right colors" - Samsung

Unlike previous Galaxy models, "the back cover of the Galaxy S5 is not shiny but shimmery instead, aka the glam look. In fact, to make Galaxy S5 attractive especially to younger users, the designers researched day and night to find the right colors," the company states.

"After extensive research, they found out that the luster of the color that appeared softly was appealing to consumers in their twenties and thirties."

Samsung has diligently worked to shift its Galaxy-brand appeal to a new, younger demographic after reports from CIRP highlighted (below) that Samsung's actual customers were more likely to be in their forties, fifties and sixties, in contrast to Apple with more appeal among users 18-24 and 25-34.

Part of Samsung's campaign to attract youth involved TV ads from 2012 that portrayed young users bumping phones to exchange playlists using NFC as bewildered older people waited in line to buy an iPhone 4S. The youngest person in line flashed his Galaxy S III and announced that he was just holding a place for his middle aged parents.

A second ad campaign from one year ago presented befuddled, greying parents with iPhones as young people acted young and enthusiastically used proprietary Samsung features.

The Samsung Tomorrowblog posting acquired dozens of public comments that reflect an apparent skepticism about the new redesign and its purported inspiration.

I love how this reads as if it were made up by The Onion, but it's just not. I just don't understand Samsung and their shite marketing speak, likening the screen to diamond and giving their phone a 'modern glam look.' I would be embarrassed to be walking around with a glam phone and I'm their target demographic.

Further, TouchWiz is such a crappy thing to put on top of Android. DED's hint that it's just trying to copy iOS is, IMO, spot on - Samsung should move closer to vanilla Android and I reckon that would give them a far more competitive product. Otherwise, they're just trying and failing to copy the UX of the iPhone which just can't be pulled off elsewhere.

The top part of this next image is a Samsung tablet with a Samsung case attached:

The one question remains is when are Sammy going to introduce the "Spark" miniature, reversible charging cable?

The likeness is (obviously) not accidental. There is almost certainly a market for cheaper copies of the iPhone, and that is the very reason why I bought a Galaxy S II back a few years ago. However, the experience was terrible, and aside from a few killer things like SwiftKey and -- well that's about it -- I regretted buying that. Never been happier than I am with my 5s and never going to go back to Samsung (I won't say Android, because one day it might be a good proposition, but Samsung just have the wrong philosophy about things)

A.K.A they can't design for shit. The guy porbably tripped after typing on that big ass tablet that lagged out could see the ground, then cut himself went to the pharmacy and got a plaster and said "o look it a plaster, waist A Galaxy s5!" I mean the software is a big Apple copy and not to mention they've got a photos app and a gllery app. What the hell. The also copied Assistive touch with Assistive menu. There ads are extremely annoying. What more can I say? A lot!

'The official blog of Samsung Electronics has revealed the design inspiration for its latest Galaxy S5 phone, which says involved extensive research into "iPhone and iOS," a technology currently showing as a preference for young, savvy customers.'

Plastic provides "a sophisticated and youthful urban style with emotion"... Said no one ever.

I don't know - I'm glad they told us it was 'with emotion'. How else would we guess?

This kind of design speak is painful and awkward. Design grads on their first assignment? I like the way they moved the camera to the bottom right. Must have taken them much research into the 20 - 30 year old market and intense innovation. It's unbelievable!

I love how Samsung has become the new Micro$haft. They were inspired by diamonds? LOL! This article really show out out-of-touch and embarrassing this company is:

"After extensive research, they found out that the luster of the color that appeared softly was appealing to consumers in their twenties and thirties."

Now, I'm sure Apple does similar research, but they don't base their whole product design around market research. They innovate. They didn't do a survey to come up with the iOS 7 flat feel and look. And gee, what's this? All other products look like iOS 7 now? Shocker.

I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow doesn't look good either.

I hope so...I get so sick and tired of hearing about what Samsung is doing. Who really gives a shit! Why do you care to know what Samsung is doing all the time? This is AppleInsider, not Samsung Insider. If you stop giving them press, maybe people will forget about them. What they're doing is obviously working from a press standpoint. Stop paying attention to them.

Whats even worse, is the fact that AI is constantly late in getting REAL Apple stories on their site. There are many many times when MacRumors, or 9-5 Mac has articles out that either AI is late to report, or simply never reports. I guess they're too busy worrying about the next move at Samsung so they can report on it. This is the same thing aided in killing Apple the first time.

Its like there's this war going on where Samsung has to lose and Apple has to win. This is the same shit that went on back in the 90's where Microsoft had to lose and Apple had to win and this all started pretty much the same way with MS stealing Apple's designs and technologies for its OS (Windows 95) and getting away with it.

Why don't we just focus on Apple and ONLY report on Apple, and its 3rd party supporters (App developers, hardware developers). Samsung should only be mentioned if there's an actual reason to, like a court ruling or something like that.

If you don't agree with my post, please give me a NO BS answer as to how this is relevant on an Apple News/Rumor site?

I can't wait until the day Apple rumor sites stop being obsessed about Samsung.

Obsession is the wrong word. It's more flabbergasted at the gall of it all.

This has been so poorly constructed and, for a supposed exposé on their design process, nothing revealed is insightful or justifies their internal design process. It's just marketing copy and an attempt to craft their own falsified narrative.

The article didn't even have to explicitly draw links between Samsung's "original" designs and their iOS 7 progenitors because they are so blatant they are instantly recognisable.

If you don't agree with my post, please give me a NO BS answer as to how this is relevant on an Apple News/Rumor site?

Sure. One, Samsung is Apple's most serious domestic and competitor in the two products that account for nearly three-quarters of Apple's revenue (and even more of its profits). Two, this site attracts Apple consumers as well as investors, or someone like me who's both.

I agree that AI is late to the party with some Apple product stories. However, those other sites are readily available to peruse without much difficulty, so I don't understand what the issue is. AI does not have to be a one-stop shop for all things Apple.

"That is because the designers were actually inspired by diamonds. The 'brilliant' or diamond cut design is a design in which diamonds are cut in a distinct form with many facets, having exceptional brilliance. That's why you can see diamond cuts on the main lock screen, which adds a sense of sophistication to the Galaxy S5 to make it fashionable and unique."

"Thus, with an easy-to-see icons and interface, you can clearly say that the Galaxy S5 is a trendy smartphone," Samsung notes.

The top part of this next image is a Samsung tablet with a Samsung case attached:

The one question remains is when are Sammy going to introduce the "Spark" miniature, reversible charging cable?

A lot of your examples seem pretty clear but in the case of the smart cover there seems to be a misunderstanding. That cover was made by Anymode and didn't have Samsung's 'official certification'.

And we can't forget that Apple got the smart cover idea from Incase (which launched a very similar solution before Apple launched the smart cover). The way of attaching the cover to the tablet is different but the essential idea of the cover is the same and thus certainly wasn't Apple's creation/idea (although like I said Apple's implementation is slightly different). The InCase cover was launched in November 2010 while Apple's smart cover was launched in March of 2011. Images of the Incase cover follow below.